Open Up Your Eyes
by FangbangerLayla
Summary: SSS 2013 Gift Fic for AshenSunset- Post Deadlocked. Everything isn't as it seems after the vamps have surely left Sookie for good and an old acquaintance makes her presence known. Will Sookie survive? And will Eric be there for her in the end? Contains some spoilers for Deadlocked.


It had been going on two weeks since I'd last heard a word from any vampires, more specifically one vampire. _My husband._ Eric, the Sheriff of Area Five. I thought for certain that he'd gone off with the Queen of Oklahoma. Just as certain as I was of that, I knew that he was angry with me for not telling him about the Cluviel D'or and more so for not using it to get him out of his marriage arrangement with Freyda.

I guess it was some unspoken test that he'd given me and – at least in his mind – I had failed with flying colors. _"You say you love me – You could stop this." _He'd said to me on my birthday. He'd known that I possessed the Cluviel D'or and expected me to use it to get him out of his arrangement…If I truly loved him. But it wasn't that simple, not for me. It wasn't right to use the trinket in that manner.

_He needed to fight for me._

Be that as it was, I didn't regret my decision to use the fairy token to save Sam's life. Not only was he my best friend and business partner, but he had saved my life many times over and returning the favor was unquestionable. However, I supposed that Eric didn't see things that way. At least that was what I assumed since he hadn't spoken to me since that fateful night.

Eric only cared for a very small number of people, and Sam Merlotte was most definitely not one them. In fact, I wasn't sure that I was one of them anymore. I loved Eric, but I wanted him to fight for me. Perhaps I had an unspoken test for him as well, which I was pretty certain he was failing too.

As I sat on my porch swing, I pondered my life. Were the vamps gone for good like the fairies? I doubted that. For one, they valued me as an asset, a telepath. I couldn't foresee them just letting me be to live out the rest of my life. And two, I wasn't certain that I wanted to be left alone. I loved Eric. I wanted to be with him. A fact that I only realized once the bond was broken and I could truly be alone with my own feelings. But I figured that that was out of my hands. The night of my birthday, I had told him how I felt. I told him that I loved him knowing that all I could offer was me. I guess that just wasn't enough.

Freyda was beautiful, eternally so and wealthy beyond my wildest imagination. And for some reason, she wanted my husband. Eric had called the arrangement "an opportunity". He was the most pragmatic vampire I'd ever met and I didn't believe for one second that he would pass up what she was offering.

I was well and truly alone now. I guess that I could focus more on the business that I was now a partner in, or being a good aunt and mentor to Hunter, or hey I was the maid of honor in my brother's wedding which was set to happen in five days. I had a lot to look forward to in my life, and just because Eric didn't choose me, didn't mean that I couldn't choose me.

* * *

Jason and Michele had chosen to have their wedding down by the pond at his, now their, home. I had worked all afternoon hanging paper lanterns on the old live oak trees that surrounded the property. Michele wanted to have the wedding at dusk, and I had to admit that it looked beautiful in the glowing red, purple and orange hues of the Louisianan sunset. I had a brief moment where I pictured myself in a beautiful white wedding gown, complete with my grandmother's veil. Walking down the aisle carrying a beautiful bouquet of lilies as I my husband, Eric, awaited me at the altar.

I shook myself out of my wild imaginings and continued putting the last minute touches on the decorations. Guests had started making their way to their seats. It was a small ceremony, maybe only 25 guests. Hoyt, Holly, Maxine, Calvin, Tonya and some of the Hotshot crew, Catfish Hennessey, JB (Tara couldn't make it on account of the twins), Halleigh and Andy, and some other people that I recognized as Michele's family.

People brought food in aluminum containers, crockpots, and Tupperware. I had made sure to put some tables together that served as a sort of buffet line. Halleigh and Andy brought the wedding cake. It was her version of his grandmother's award winning chocolate cake, and she had beautifully decorated it with real flowers surrounding the base of the three layer delicacy.

I went back into the house to check on Michele and to do one final makeup check. Michele looked breathtaking in an off white floor length lace gown. She had said that she didn't want to wear white since it wasn't her first marriage. I poo poo'd that idea. It was an archaic tradition, but she was adamant. And I had to admit that gran would've agreed with her. Ah well, her wedding, her choice.

Michele was nervous, but excited and anxious to get the ceremony started.

"Sookie, we're going to be sisters!" She said hugging me tightly, but careful not to ruin her hair or makeup. And I knew that she was genuinely happy to have Jason and I. It made me feel good to know that Jason had finally chosen the right one and that perhaps our dwindled little Stackhouse family just might carry on against all odds.

I smiled in earnest. I was glad to have her as well and also to see the effect she had on my brother. It warmed my heart, really and truly.

"I'm gonna go start the music." I said releasing her from our embrace and straightening my dress.

She nodded and turned back to the floor length mirror, giving herself a final once over. She was thinking about how much she loved Jason despite some of his past life choices (and his outdoor activities on the full moon).

Since their wedding was both on the fly and on the cheap, they hadn't hired a band and therefore the music was to be played on a CD player and the music was a mix that I had put together for them.

Sam had agreed to monitor the CD player while I played my part in the ceremony, so I had to make sure that he was ready.

"You look very pretty Sookie." Sam said greeting me with a brief peck on my cheek.

"Thanks. You look good too." I replied. And he did, but when he kissed my cheek, I noticed that I didn't feel any stirring in my belly like I once had when he kissed me.

"You okay to man the music?" I asked and he replied with a simple shake of his head. He hit play and so with the start of the wedding march, I grabbed my small bouquet and began my short walk down the aisle.

* * *

The ceremony was beautiful and thankfully went off without a hitch (or any objections). As the music flowed gently into the night, I walked around greeting guests and making sure that everyone had their fill of food and drinks.

I had my shields firmly in place. I couldn't bear to hear all the romantic and happy thoughts when my love life was so… nonexistent. I had my duties and I just wanted to be a good Bridesmaid and hostess.

I had just sat my punch down and was about to take a small breather when I felt a soft rapping on my shoulder, I probably should've lowered my shields, but I didn't. Instead I looked over my shoulder only to be faced the last person on earth I thought I would ever see again.

"Arlene?" I said incredulously, standing up immediately.

"Can we talk?" She said. Her accent thick. She sounded really and truly remorseful. I immediately peeked into her mind. _Regret. Guilt. Sorrow._ She wanted to make amends.

Call me cynical, call me distrustful, but I wasn't going to believe her that easily, not after what she had done. I admit that I hadn't kept up with her trial or what had happened to her after my torture and the Fairy War. Last I heard she had hired Melba Jennings to represent her. Melba was tough as nails and if anyone could get her out of trouble, well it was Melba.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her slightly more contemptuous than I hoped would come out.

"I know I shouldn't be here, Sookie. But it's eatin' me alive." Something was definitely eating her alive. She looked skinnier than I ever remembered her looking and that said something seeing as how she had a grapefruit only diet phase.

But I could sense her honesty, at least in how she was feeling, but something told me not to trust her.

"You need to leave." I told her sternly. I wasn't interested in hearing anything she had to say to me. I may have been her friend once upon a time, but she conspired to have me killed.

"Please Sookie, just hear me out." She pleaded.

"You're sorry. I can see that, but I already knew you were a sorry human being. Leave now before I call Andy over." I said sharply.

Whatever plan she had for me – and I knew there was a lascivious plan – had failed.

_Gotta tell Jimmy that she didn't fall for it. He's gonna be madder than a puffed toad. _

What was their plan? I felt like I was on guard waiting for the next attack to happen. But I watched as Arlene left and I listened to the guests and heard nothing bad. I knew that I had to be on guard until I could find out more about Arlene. Maybe file one of those restraining orders.

I turned around and sipped my punch, hoping that I could at least relax for the rest on that night. Unfortunately for me, about 20 minutes later I started to feel bad. Really, really bad. So bad that I had to excuse myself from the party. I apologized profusely to Michele and Jason. I felt bad leaving them in the lurch for the cleanup, but I felt dizzy. Vertigo, I guess is what they call it. I thought maybe it was on account of something I ate. Maxine's casserole perhaps? Either way, I needed to go home and rest.

I remembered getting into my car, but that's all. After that, and for the second time in my godforsaken life, I didn't know a thing.

* * *

I woke up in a…church. No, not just any church, it was a fellowship church, though not the one I had been to in Dallas. I could tell that it was a Fellowship church by the emblems on the walls, and also because I saw a picture of a vampire being burned in effigy. Gross.

"How original." I said aloud. It wasn't the first time, hell even the third time, that I'd been kidnapped.

They had put me in the basement. Again, how original. I was surrounded by knickknacks, old art supplies, toys and wooden stakes. I knew I was in a basement because it was very very cold and there were no windows. If I was in a basement, then that also meant that I wasn't close to home, seeing as how the water table in Louisiana isn't suitable for basements.

I wasn't injured, just foggy. My hands and feet were bound, which made my situation uncomfortable, but I wasn't in pain, save for the wrist that was injured during my last major kidnapping.

I heard movement on the floor above me, but apart from that no voices. I did however _hear_ someone thinking about making hors d'oeuvres for some kind of reception that was to take place that evening.

Hmm. That was curious. I knew that the fellowship was big on pomp and pageantry and couple that with the fact that I was bound in their basement, well, I had the sneaking suspicion that I was going to be the guest of honor.

A few more hours went by, and still not much activity going on above me. There had been some folks upstairs decorating and setting up a buffet, but apart from that there was no indication of what was to happen. I had a moment of sheer panic. There really was no one that would even think to come for me. Eric could no longer feel me and even if he could I doubted his motivation to come after me anyway. Jason and Michele were long gone on their honeymoon by now. The Fairies were gone, back to whatever fairyland they came from so no help there. Amelia was in Paris with the now human bodied Bob. I had all but threw Alcide out of my life (for good reason too). I had to no way to contact Quinn, though I wasn't sure that was a good idea anyhow.

Sam. Sam was the only person in my life who would even miss me. He was also probably the only person who would even notice that I was missing. That fact alone was too depressing to even think about at the moment.

I had to focus. I was the only person who could help me and I needed to think. I knew that I had to be out of Louisiana due to the water table. I figured I wasn't in Dallas, seeing as how the Fellowship was all but banished from that city, but it wasn't out of the question that I was in Texas.

Since the Fellowship operated primarily in the South, I assumed that that's where I was, but the South was a fairly large geographical area. Ah well, I thought. It didn't really matter what state I was in at the moment, what mattered was getting the hell out of the church.

I struggled against my restraints to no avail. In fact, in doing so it only caused irritation and pain in my wrists and ankles. Getting out of a hogtied situation was well and truly an exercise in futility. I resigned myself to just stay calm and wait for until a fellowship idiot came down, hopefully alone. I eyed potential weapons I could use against anyone who came down here and was dumb enough to untie me.

A broom handle, a pitchfork, a metal folding chair and a thick metal pole. I had it all planned out in my head. The Fellowship idiot would come down here and untie me, at which time I would lunge for the nearest weapon, the broom handle, and I would use it to render he or she unconscious.

In my head it all worked out and I walked away from the church scott free. What I didn't anticipate was that the Fellowship idiot would drug me before untying me. Which is exactly what they did.

* * *

When I came to again, I was dressed in a very pretty floral knee length blue dress. I was tied to a chair that was situated on a stage in the middle of the church auditorium. I looked around and noticed that the auditorium hall was decorated with flowers and sheer paneling. It looked like a wedding had taken place and this was the reception. Except I was pretty certain that a wedding wouldn't have a banner saying, "Do not give the devil a foothold."

I snorted. These people were so incredibly misguided in their beliefs. Most of them were so weak minded and were just followers, like Arlene… sheeple. Then there were others who honest to god believed the Fellowships rhetoric. I felt sorry for humanity at that moment.

"Brothers, Sisters, welcome." A familiar voice boomed over the loudspeaker. Then the magnanimous and insane Steve Newlin stepped upon the stage a mere few feet away from where I was tied.

"Today is a glorious day in the fight against Satan!" He boomed throwing his hand in the air as if he were speaking as God himself. My stomach roiled.

Over the last few years, I had cheated death a few times, been involved in far too many skirmishes that a mere mortal had no business being involved in, yet I survived each and every time. Perhaps at some point in my life I had become complacent. But in that Fellowship church, tied to a chair in front of G. Steve Newlin himself, I knew that my number was up. I was a cat without any more lives to spare.

"This demoness." He spouted waving his arms in my direction in a sweeping manner that was meant to incite some kind of gleeful response from the Fellowship members. "is a traitor to our race." He paused for a moment to allow the congregation a chance to cheer.

"She is the reason our beloved Sarah cannot be with us today, and she is the reason brothers Spradlin, Stevens and Collins have gone to God." He said. The truth was that he really wasn't wrong. I _was_ the reason hose people couldn't be here, but not because of my choices. No, it was because of their own. I didn't tell Sarah to kill helpless rescue animals, and I certainly didn't invite Whit Spradlin to attempt murder on me. No. I was merely a telelpath who was thrown into the same lot as all other supernaturals and in that regard became a target of the Fellowship's insanity.

"I want to welcome a very special guest." Steve said which caused me to look up at him in question. "Brothers, sisters, please welcome FBI Agent Tom Lattesta."

To be honest, I wasn't all that shocked to see Agent Lattesta. The last time I saw him, he had made it pretty clear that I was off limits to the FBI, but that he knew that there was something "wrong" with me and was determined to bring me down. Standing there on the stage with his smug smile his thoughts were loud and clear. He was exacting his revenge.

He blamed me for being overlooked for a promotion. He blamed me for the failure of his marriage which had fallen apart because of his obsession with investigating me. And he further blamed me for his dependence on alcohol. None of those things were my fault, but there was no convincing him of that.

In my periphery I noticed Steve Newlin walking towards me. "I bet you want to know how we were able to grab you?" He asked tauntingly.

No, actually I didn't, because I already knew. For one thing, I wasn't an idiot and secondly, I read it straight from his thoughts.

Agent Lattesta had been investigating me since the Dallas bombings and at some point had begun a secret relationship with Steve Newlin. They knew everything. The bond and marriage to Eric. The dissolution of said bond and marriage. His marriage to Freyda and my brother and Michele's wedding.

They made their move on me because I was at the most vulnerable point in my life, both emotionally and physically. They were right.

"Fuck you." I replied. Inelegant, I know. But I couldn't stand his arrogance.

He laughed…loudly. "Jesse, please bring in the cross." He said. Two large men began to wheel a large cross on the stage.

"You are a witch Ms. Stackhouse." He proclaimed and the congregation gasped. "And witches get burned at the stake!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, please make your way outside, for in 20 minutes we are going to have a bonfire!" he thundered.

Fuck a zombie.

* * *

As the last minutes of my life ticked by, tied in an undignified manner to a giant cross. I wondered in a weird way, if this is what Joan of Arc felt like. I was a Christian, perhaps not the best Christian, but a Christian nonetheless. I prayed to God, I tried to do the right thing. I lived my life the best way that I knew how. Yet I was about to be murdered by those who claimed to be righteous in the eyes of God, my God, their God. It made no sense.

As Newlin and Lattesta lit the embers at my feet, I thought of Eric. I thought of my love for him, the life that we were robbed of together because of the actions of those who sought to control us. I wished that I had tried harder to contact him. I wished that I had fought harder for him, though I admitted to myself that I wasn't sure what I could've done differently, but I just wished. I wanted to see him just one last time, to tell him that I love him. My last prayer was that when he died, that we would be reunited in the afterlife.

I vaguely heard cheering and hollering, still though, as I took my last breath, I whispered his name. "Eric."

* * *

"Sookie." A man said. No, not just a man, it was my man. Eric. Everything was black, but I was aware. I called out to him in my mind. Eric! Eric! Eric!

"Please come back to me Sookie." He pleaded. He sounded tired, and sad. Where was I? Was this heaven? If this was heaven, then why was everything black?

I felt his hand caress my cheek as he began to tell me how much he loved me. Why couldn't I see him? I just wanted to see his beautifully white skin and his deep blue eyes.

"Please baby. We need you." He spoke softly. Baby? Eric never called me his baby. And who was "we"? Pam? Jason?

"Sookie, you should see him now baby. He's so big now and smart. He's so smart Sookie, just like you."

What? Who was he talking about? Who?! It was maddening. If I could just open my eyes, see him, talk to him.

Open your eyes Sookie. Open your eyes.

"Wake up Sookie, Open your eyes." He said

Open my eyes, wake up. I told myself over and over.

"Come back to us. Hunter and I need you, come back to us. Please baby." He begged over and over. Hunter? My cousin? Open my eyes, Open my eyes.

I could feel his exasperation. His hand fell from my cheek. I heard a chair scraping against the floor. He was leaving. He was leaving! No, No. Open my eyes. Open my eyes!

"Eric!" I said as forcefully as I could, which probably wasn't very loud at all.

"Sookie!" Eric rushed back to my side. I still had no idea where I was, but I was laying down in a bed… a very clinical bed. Then realization swept over me that I was in the hospital.

"My god baby! I thought I lost you. They said that you would never wake up. I never gave up hope though. I never gave up!" He said and then he peppered me with butterfly kisses.

"Eric, it's light time, you'll burn!" I said panicking. I couldn't move my body very much because I was so weak, but I attempted to throw the sheet over him.

"Sookie?" He questioned.

"You'll burn Eric! You'll burn like I did!" I cried out.

"Sookie, Sookie. Stop. Stop baby. Nobody is burning." He tried to comfort and calm me, but it was hard to stay calm because a bunch of beeping sounds were blaring and IT WAS LIGHTIME!

A couple of nurses came in and I noticed one of them injecting my IV with something and the other was trying to soothe me.

I felt the panic start to recede and the fire in me died out a bit. I heard a nurse tell Eric that I was in shock and that it was normal. He told them that I seemed to be confused and was saying things that didn't make sense.

Before I had a chance to ask what he was talking about, I passed out.

* * *

The sun was bright, so, so bright. I blinked repeatedly as if that would abate the brightness. I felt a little less cloudy and my head no longer felt like it was going to explode. I heard…well, nothing. No sounds or thoughts. That was strange, more than strange really. I was in a hospital, which was most definitely filled with people. In fact I had a roommate. I opened up my mental net and tried to listen to the thoughts around me, but I heard nothing. Radio silence.

A man in a white coat entered my room. He pulled the chart from the foot of my bed and studied it for a minute before addressing me.

"How are you feeling?" He said as he began taking my vital signs.

"Good. Confused, but good. Where is Eric?" I said in a jumbled way that clearly spoke of my confusion. I imagined that since the sun was out that he wouldn't be joining me until later.

"Not sure. I'll have the nurse call your husband." He wrote down my vitals as he spoke.

"Sookie, do you know where you are?" He asked in a gentle way that made me feel at ease in his presence.

"A hospital?" I answered as more of a question.

"Good. What was the last thing that you remember?"

How did I answer this without sounding crazy. "I was being held by the Fellowship of the Sun and they burned me alive." I said, but as soon as the words left my mouth I knew that they didn't make any sense. I lifted my arms, inspecting them for obvious signs of burns. There were none, my skin was perfectly smooth. Logically I knew that if I had been burned, there would be at least some damage. I had seen the effects of fire on the skin and it wasn't pretty.

Thoroughly confused and feeling as though I was in a different reality, I scrunched my forehead in an attempt to piece my life together. Just then, Eric strolled in which only caused my confusion to increase.

It was daylight.

Noticing the early signs of my panic, he quickly made his way to my side. "What is wrong dear?" He asked gently stroking my cheeks.

I still couldn't hear his thoughts – or my doctors as a matter of fact. Perhaps I hit my head?

"I seem to be a little lost." I said in a faraway tone that I knew he would pick up on.

_His skin was tan_.

"That is to be expected." He replied soothingly and nodded to the doctor in confirmation.

_His skin was warm. _

"How long was I out?" I stammered because I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. My world was already teetering on a very precarious axis as it was.

_It was daytime. _

Eric looked a little frightened to answer, and the Eric I knew didn't do frightened well. I had only seen him like this a couple of times. Once when his deranged vampire brother went on a killing spree in his home, and a second time when dealing with the menacing Victor Madden. That happened, right?

I noticed that his reluctance was getting the best of him, so I asked again.

"You were out for two years Sookie." He said quietly. He said each word carefully and he gauged my reaction very closely.

_He wasn't a vampire!_

Two years? I was unconscious for two years. And Eric wasn't a vampire, and I couldn't hear thoughts.

"You're not a vampire!" I shouted without thinking, ignoring the fact that I had been unconscious for two years.

Eric chuckled. "Of course I'm not a mythical bloodsucker." He continued to laugh.

_I had dreamt all of it. _

"Hunter is… our son?" I asked timidly.

"Adopted, but yes. He's your late cousins' son, but we adopted him four years ago." He replied, but then added "He misses you."

Eric fished out a school photo from his wallet. Hunter stood in front of a marbled gray background smiling brightly. His missing front tooth featured prominently. I smiled and touched the outline of his face in the photo.

Memories began to flood through my mind and I began piecing the puzzle of my life back together.

Gran passing away from a heart attack, my first lover Bill being there to comfort me, our break-up, meeting Eric, falling in love with him, our marriage, adopting Hunter, the accident that led me here.

I fell asleep at the wheel after an extremely tiring double shift at Merlotte's. I don't remember anything after that, but I am assuming I had been in an accident.

"I was in an accident." I stated, not questioned. Eric only offered a small nod in response.

"Did I hurt anyone?" I asked, scared that I may have hurt or killed another.

"Just yourself." He replied sadly.

I remembered everything! I started to laugh wildly like a mad woman. Dr. Rousseau eyed me carefully taking notes of my actions.

"You ok Sookie?" Eric asked cautiously.

"Yes!" I replied with zeal. "I mean, yes" I said in a more controlled manner. "I remember Eric." I said and reached across the bed and kissed him passionately.

"I love you." I whispered against his soft lips and he hugged me a little tighter. It didn't take a telepath to figure out how happy my words were making him.

"It's over now." He said pulling back. "We can live the rest of our lives like we were always meant to."

I knew that his words were right and I would spend the rest of my life in peace with Eric by my side, raising Hunter in a home filled with love. I would stand by Eric, just as he sat by me for the last two years. His devotion, our love, our family - it was all that mattered in the world.

The End.


End file.
